Stay Close To Me
by cherrycokerocks
Summary: Maria’s pregnant with her best friend’s baby. Will she be able to tell him or will she pretend it’s just a storyline. Maria/Jeff fic. Also includes Mickie/Chris and some Matt/Eve possibly Please R & R.
1. Chapter 1

Stay Close To Me

Author: And

Pairing: Maria/Jeff Hardy

Disclaimer: I own nothing. All belongs to Vince and the WWE.

Rating: T

Summary: Maria's pregnant with her best friend's baby. Will she be able to tell him or will she pretend it's just a storyline. Maria/Jeff fic.

Chapter 1

Maria Kanellis paced nervously backstage, she was about to make her first appearance since being drafted to Smackdown in June. At the request of Vince McMahon she'd been kept off television and was about to shock the wrestling world, according to Vince anyway. Maria wasn't so sure but it was too late to back out now. She'd committed herself to the storyline. She looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted the baggy grey tee shirt she was wearing. It matched the baggy jeans that did a great job of hiding her expanding stomach. It wasn't something she normal wore on screen but wearing her usual ring attire was no longer suitable. Not when she was four months pregnant.

Any minute now she was going to come face to face with the father of her baby. A man she hadn't really been in contact with for months. Sure they had sent a few text messages back and forth but a lot had happened to the man she once regarded as her best friend this passed few months. He'd been suspended for sixty days after failing the wellness policy for a second time. His house had been destroyed in a terrible fire and he'd gotten back together with his long term girlfriend Beth. That was the real kicker for Maria. It really didn't help that they had gotten back together immediately after she had slept with Jeff back in March. Not that Jeff even remembered it happening. It wasn't surprising really with the amount he'd had to drink that night. That and Maria had later found out he'd also been high on painkillers. Another kick in the teeth for the beautiful redhead.

A knock at the door made the diva jump, "Ten minutes, Maria," a voice called out.

"Thank you," Maria called back. She checked her appearance again in the mirror and took a deep breath. "You can do this," she said to herself as she walked towards the door. Once in the hallway she headed towards Michael Hayes' make shift office. As she arrived outside the office, Maria steadied herself as she came face to face with the man she was madly in love with.

"Hey stranger," Jeff Hardly greeted her with a grin. He was dressed in his usual black ring attire, casually leaning back against the wall.

"Hey yourself."

"I heard a rumour that you were back. Welcome to Smackdown."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Thanks Jeff."

He studied her appearance closer, "New look?"

"Kinda," Maria paused for a moment, "You don't like it?"

"Yeah, it's cool, man. Just not really your usual style. On screen anyways."

Maria shrugged, "People change."

Jeff frowned, "Is that why they've kept you off tv? So your character can change?"

"Not exactly," Maria admitted. "You don't know?" She was confused now, she was sure that someone would have told Jeff about the storyline.

He pushed off the wall, jamming his hands in his pockets and came closer to her, "Know what?"

"About our new storyline?"

Jeff shook his head, "Not really. They told me that I was starting a new storyline tonight with a returning diva … which I presumed was you." He smiled at her briefly, "Glad I was right."

"Oh wow, you're in for a surprise then. They haven't told you anything?"

"Nope, you care to let me in on the big secret?" Before she knew what was happening Jeff was right in front of her, "What's the matter? It can't be that bad right?"

"You're right. It's not that bad and it's just a storyline. If it doesn't go well I'm sure it will be dropped like a hot potato."

"And it's …"

Maria took a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

Jeff's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "You're what now?"

"Pregnant. I mean I'm really pregnant, that's just not a storyline."

"Since when? I know we haven't exactly been in contact lately but I didn't know you were dating anyone."

The redhead sighed heavily, "I'm not. One night stand, I'd rather not talk about it if it's okay with you."

Jeff held his hands up in defense, "That's fine, I'm just like surprised that's all."

"Shocked the hell out of me when I found out too. I really thought Vince was going to fire me but he was really pleased and wanted to use it as a storyline. That's where you come in. They want you to be," she made air quotes with her fingers, "The father."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Not like I really have a choice," Maria replied. "Are you okay with that?"

Jeff smiled, "Why not. Are you sure you're okay with that? You look like you could use a hug."

Maria gave him a tiny smile, "Is that an offer, Mr Hardy?"

"Of course," He opened his arms, allowing her to step into his embrace.

Maria melted into his arms, Jeff gave the best hugs. He always made her feel so safe. So why was she lying to him?

"I hate to break up this little love fest but are you two ready?" Michael Hayes asked from behind the two.

Maria reluctantly pulled away from Jeff, "We're ready as we'll ever be."

"If you can make your way to the gorilla position. We're shooting in five minutes."

Jeff nodded, "Whatever you say, boss." He turned his attention back to Maria, "So how many months pregnant are ya?"

"Four."

"Oh …" Jeff trailed off as they started to head to the gorilla position.

"What?"

"I didn't realise you were that far along. I thought you'd be a couple of months at most," Jeff admitted.

Maria frowned but said nothing. At first she thought that Jeff had twigged and remembered something but that obviously wasn't the case. He had no idea that he was in fact the real father.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Thanks very much for the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please R & R.

Chapter 2

Maria and Jeff had spent the last few minutes going over the script for their first cut scene. It was pretty straight forward and was basically just a rehash of the actual conversation the two friends had shared earlier.

Once everything was clear in her mind, Maria felt herself relax a little. Maybe it was just being in Jeff's presence that made her feel that way. His laid back attitude always did rub off on her.

"Are you two ready?" the production assistant asked.

"As I'll ever be," Maria replied.

"Can you get into position Jeff?" He motioned for Jeff to go to the back wall.

Jeff nodded and went where he'd been instructed. The camera man positioned himself in front of the multi coloured haired man.

"And action."

The crowd cheered as Jeff appeared on the big screen out in the arena. They cheered even louder as Maria appeared next to him.

"Hi Maria, welcome back."

"Hey Jeff," Maria greeted with a small smile. "I've been looking for you everywhere. There's something I really need to tell you and it can't wait."

Jeff's entrance music started to play, "It's gonna have to." Jeff shrugged, "I gotta go. Come find me after my match and we'll talk." He smiled at her before heading towards the curtain.

"But Jeff …" Maria called after him as he disappeared into the arena.

"And cut. Great job Maria."

"Thanks."

Greg, the production assistant handed her a microphone, "You've got like five minutes before you need to head to ringside."

"Gotcha."

The five minutes flew by and before Maria even knew what was happening she was making her way down the entrance ramp, her best fake smile plastered on her face. She avoided Brian Kendrick, Jeff's beaten opponent as he and his bodyguard were making their way back up the ramp and headed towards the ring.

As she walked up the steps, Jeff came over and held the rope open for her to enter the ring, "Thanks. I'm sorry to come out here and do this in front of everybody Jeff but there's something I really need to tell you."

Jeff was right in front of her, "What is it?"

"I'm pregnant … And you're the father."

Jeff's jaw dropped, "Say what now?"

"Pregnant." Maria repeated before dropped the microphone and ran as quickly as she could from the ring, leaving a stunned Jeff just standing there.

The crowd was quiet, seemingly waiting for Jeff to move. For a moment he just stayed still and watched the retreating redhead head towards the curtain. As per the script he didn't move until she'd completely disappeared. As he made his way up the ramp, there were a few shout outs of "Go get her," from the fans.

When Jeff appeared through the curtain, he expected to see Maria standing there, waiting for him but she was no where in sight. The youngest Hardy glanced around and spotted Victoria standing ready for her match, "Hey Vic, have you seen Maria?"

"Ladies room," Victoria replied quickly. "She said something about throwing up."

Jeff made a face, "Okay, thanks Vic."

Down the hallway, Maria had just finished emptying the contents of her stomach. She couldn't wait until next week when hopefully her morning sickness would be over. She flushed the chain and walked out of the stall a little surprised to find Jeff standing there, "Um … Jeff, you do realise that this is the ladies room right?"

Jeff laughed, "Yeah, but I thought making sure that you were okay was a little more important than a man being in a ladies rooms."

"I'm fine. Bump just likes making me sick, that's all. I get my morning sickness in the evening."

Jeff raised an eyebrow, "Bump?"

The redhead smiled, "That's what I'm calling him until I decide on a name." She walked over to the sink and started to wash her hands.

"How do you know it's a boy?"

Maria just shrugged as she turned off the tap, "I can just tell. I'll find out for sure when I got for my next sonograph in a few weeks."

"You don't want it to be a surprise?"

The diva grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and proceeded to wipe her hands, "I thought about it but I'm so convinced it's a boy, why wait?"

"I guess."

"And it really helps when people want to buy gifts, if you already know the sex." She threw the paper towel into the trash, "Is it okay with you if we get out of here?"

Jeff grinned at her, "Yeah, that's fine by me."

"Glad to hear it." She waited for him to start walking before following him out of the door.

"I'm weird but I'm not that weird."

Maria laughed, "You're not weird Jeff … just abnormal." Jeff simply pouted, causing Maria to laugh even more. Soon the two were standing outside the diva's locker room. "Thanks for walking me back here, you really didn't have to."

"I wanted to. I've missed you," Jeff admitted.

"I've missed you too, Hardy." She nudged him slightly with her shoulder, "You got a ride to the hotel?"

"Yeah, I got my own rental."

"Cool, well I guess I'll maybe see you at the hotel then or something."

Jeff nodded, "I'm sure you will. Catch you later, Maria."

"Yeah."

Without another word, he jammed his hands into his pockets and walked away back towards the male locker room.

Maria waited until he was out of sight before walking down the hallway herself, she hadn't had the heart to tell him that her stuff wasn't in the main diva's locker room.

Two hours later and Maria had made herself comfortable in her hotel room. She was heading home in the morning so she'd decided that she was going to tell Jeff that he was the real father. Just as she was about to pull out her cell phone to call him there was a knock on the connector door to the next room. Slowly she got up and walked towards it, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Jeff."

"Jeff who?" Maria teased. She could just imagine him rolling his eyes at her.

"Hardy."

Maria unlocked the door and pushed it open, "I know silly, I was just messing with ya. Hello neighbour."

"Hey, what's up?" Jeff asked casually. He was now shirtless, wearing just a pair of blue jeans.

"I was just about to call you actually. I had no idea you were in the next room," the redhead admitted.

Jeff smiled at her, "Didn't know myself until I saw you coming in here a while back. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Few things really. Can I come in?"

"Sure." He moved away from the door and walked around to the other side of the queen sized bed. Diving on it like a child, "Take a load off."

Maria giggled at his behaviour, "Thanks." Carefully, she sat down next to him. Usually she would have just flopped down next to him, not caring where she landed but things were different now. She took a deep breath, deciding it was now or never, "Well … I guess what I want to say is …" she trailed off as Jeff's cell started to ring.

Jeff reached behind him and pulled the phone from the night stand, glancing at the caller ID, "It's Beth. I could call her back, or?"

"Nope, you talk it her, we can talk another time."

Jeff simply nodded and answered the call, "Hey baby."

The pretty diva's stomach dropped and she shuffled off the end of the bed and in her rush to get away she stubbed her toe on the base, "Mother Fucker!" she cursed as the pain took her breath away.

"Hold on a second," Jeff said to his girlfriend. He rested his cell phone against his chest, "Are you okay?"

Maria gritted her teeth and nodded, not trusting herself to speak. As Jeff turned his attention back to his cell phone, she hobbled her way back to her own room, shutting the connecting door behind her. "Oh fantastic, that went really well."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing.**

**Thanks for the reviews. Please R & R.**

Chapter 3

The next morning, Maria had made the decision to put telling Jeff the truth about their baby on the back burner. Instead she picked up her cell phone and decided to call her other best friend Mickie James.

The phone only rang twice before Mickie answered, "Hey Maria."

"Hey Micks, how's it going?"

"Good, how's things?"

Maria sighed, "Could be better."

"Have you told Jeff yet?"

"Jeeze, Mickie, don't beat around the bush will ya?"

The brunette laughed, "There's no point … So have you?"

"I tried … But Beth called him before I could."

This time it was Mickie's turn to sigh, "I'm sorry honey that sucks. But apart from that you're okay?"

"Yeah, can't complain really. I threw up in the middle of the Smackdown tapings last night which was lovely," Maria replied sarcastically. "But Jeff did come into the ladies room to make sure I was okay which was sweet of him."

"Jeff's a sweet guy, that's part of the problem. If he was a complete bastard it would be so much easier for you to hate him."

"Yeah …"

"Hold on a second, there's someone here who's insisting on talking to you."

The line went quiet for a few seconds before Mickie's boyfriend, Chris Jericho spoke, "Good morning."

Maria smiled at Chris' chipper tone, "Morning Chris. You okay?"

"I'm awesome. Even better now I've spoken to you."

The redheaded diva laughed, "Oh Chris, you're so full of it."

"You okay?"

"Like I told Micks, I've been better. I had my usual morning sickness last night at the tapings and then when I got back to the hotel I stubbed my toe on Jeff's bed." Mickie and Chris were the only two who knew the truth about Jeff being the father of Maria's baby.

"I'm sorry did you just say you stubbed your toe on Jeff Hardy's bed?"

"Yes but it's not what you're thinking. I was going to tell him the truth about the baby and when suddenly Beth called. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible and in the process I walked into the base of his bed. Hurt like a bitch."

"Yeah and I bet you're not just talking about your toe eh?"

Maria sighed, "Nope."

"I wish there was something I could do to take that pain away, Sweetheart."

"I Know, I don't know what I would have done without you two these past few months."

"What are friends for? Now, dear heart, what plans do you have for today?"

"Well I'm gonna get dressed and then head out for my walk."

"You're not dressed yet?"

"Nope, I'm still wearing my makeshift pj's. Can't really go out wearing them," Maria replied.

"Well you could …"

"Yeah but I don't think anybody wants to see a beached whales walking around in a small tank top and boy shorts because that's really attractive."

Chris laughed, "You do not look anything like a beached whale. You're gorgeous. Just you wait for a few months when you're really in bloom. I swear if I wasn't dating your best friend I'd be making a play for you myself."

"Got a thing about pregnant women have we Christopher?"

"Maybe I do."

"Oh god help us all."

"Now hey, that's not nice."

Maria rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her, "You know I was only messing with ya. Anyways, I better hit the bricks and get out of here."

"Okay, text Mickie when you get back from your walk. You know how she worries about you."

"Yes Sir. I'll probably call her later too."

"Sounds like a plan. Speak to you later. I love you."

"I love you too, bye." Maria smiled as she hung the phone. She threw her cell onto the bed and turned around only to find Jeff standing in the connector doorway. "Oh Jesus, Jeff you scared me."

"Sorry," he replied lamely. "I did knock but I guess you didn't hear me with being on the phone and all."

Maria studied him closely. Something was wrong. His tone was off and it was looking at her strangely. If she didn't know any better she would swear he'd come down with a serious case of the green eyed monster. But that couldn't be true. No way Jeff would be jealous of her talking to Chris. "So was there something you wanted?"

"Just came to see if you were alright after last night."

The redhead smiled brightly at him, hoping to soften the sour expression on his face, "I'm fine now." She stood up and walked towards him, trying her best to ignore the fact he was just standing there in a pair of navy blue boxer shorts.

Suddenly a smile grin broke out on his face, "Wow, you're starting to show."

Maria stopped and looked down at her stomach. In the tight fitting grey tank top she was wearing, her bump stood out a lot more, "Yeah, couple of months time and I'll be like the back of a bus."

"Um …"

Maria rolled her eyes, "You're supposed to say, oh no you won't."

Jeff waved off her comment, "That goes without saying, I was just wondering if you mind if I touched you."

"Excuse me?"

"Your bump, would you mind if I touched it?"

"Oh … Well I don't know, we'll have to ask him and see what he says."

Jeff laughed, "Okay then."

Maria turned and walked back towards the bed, motioning for Jeff to follow her. She sat down gently and Jeff did the same. "Now, Bump, Papa Jeff wants to touch you … Is that okay with you?"

"Papa Jeff?"

"Yeah, that's what I've been calling you to him since I found out about the storyline. Thought he might as well get used to it. If what Vince told me is true, he'll be hearing your voice a lot," Maria explained.

Jeff nodded, "Cool, Papa Jeff, I like it."

"And he doesn't seem to mind if you touch him so go ahead." Maria lifted her tank top to expose her swollen stomach. "Your hands aren't cold are they?"

He automatically rubbed his hands together to warm them up for a few seconds and then gently placed his hands on her stomach.

"Nope, not cold at all," Maria confirmed, making Jeff smile again. "You can talk to him if you like. I do it all the time, I read somewhere that it helps with their development or whatever."

"Hey Bump, this is Papa Jeff, what's going on little buddy?"

The beautiful diva's heart melted as she fell even more in love with him as he talked to their child. She felt tears prick in her eyes and sniffled.

Jeff looked up at her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's my damn hormones. The slightest little thing and the water works start up."

He pulled his hands off for a moment and then wrapped his arms around her instead pulling her into a hug. "Better?"

"Much." They stayed like that for about a minute before the diva pulled away, "How are things with you and Beth?"

"Great, best they have been in a long time."

"I should have known you two would have gotten back together eventually. It's just that you were so angry when you broke up the last time."

"Yeah, lot of bad shit went down between us but it's all good now."

"That's fantastic," Maria lied.

"There was another reason why I dropped by today, I wanted to know if you still wanted to talk. I mean last night you said there were a couple of things you wanted to say but we didn't get the chance with Beth calling and all."

"No, it's okay. I spoke to Mickie this morning about things."

"Oh Mickie, was that who you were talking to when I came in?"

"Nope, that was …. That was someone else," Maria replied. She was about to tell him it was only Chris Jericho but when she saw his face something stopped her. The sour expression was back. What was up with that?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

**Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming.  
**

Chapter 4

Jeff had left the hotel room a few minutes later, claiming he was going back to sleep before he needed to check out. Usually, Maria would have tried to convince him to come with her on the walk but after the strange look he'd given her, the diva decided against it. The last thing she needed was to get into a full blown argument with him in the middle of New York City. It wasn't good for her and it certainly wasn't good for their baby. So instead, Maria had gotten changed into her sweat pants and grey zip up hoodie, gathered her ipod and cell phone and headed out for her daily morning walk.

Once she'd returned, she'd hit the shower and packed her case, ready to check out. The thought of just leaving without talking to Jeff again crossed her mind but she'd quickly dismissed it. She packed her cell phone and ipod into her purse and did a quick scan around the room to make sure she hadn't missed anything. Once the satisfied, nothing had been left behind, she knocked on the connecting door. She frowned when she didn't get a reply, deciding to sneak a peak inside. Maria pushed the door opened and stepped inside Jeff's room. It was still dark inside, the drapes were still firmly shut. Maria glanced at the bed, finding Jeff sprawled out on top of the covers, fast asleep. Rolling her eyes, she leaned in gently to wake him up, "Jeff?"

No answer.

"Jeff wake up."

Suddenly, without warning, Jeff grabbed hold of her and pulled a surprised Maria onto of him, "Beth …"

Maria sighed heavily, "Guess again, Jeffery."

Jeff's eyes shot open, "Maria?"

"Hey," Maria replied, making no effort to move at all.

"What are you doing here? What time is it?"

"It's like nine thirty. I'm about to check out but I thought I'd drop by to say goodbye first," the redhead explained.

"Right …" Jeff replied, still sounding half asleep. "I should get dressed. Sorry about grabbing you. You're okay right?"

"I'm fine, Jeff. I'm pregnant not made of glass."

Jeff nodded and Maria finally rolled off him. In truth she was enjoying lying on top of him but it probably wasn't the best idea especially after he'd just called her his girlfriend's name.

Once released Jeff sat up and rubbed his eyes, "How are you getting to the airport?"

"I'm not."

Her best friend shot her a confused look, "What? How come?"

"Because of the pregnancy I'm keeping the flying down to a minimum."

"Then how are you getting home?"

"I'm not going home," Maria replied. "I'm driving to the next arena."

"But that's in Charlotte."

"Yes, thank you. I'm aware of that," Maria said, sarcastically.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything, it's just are you gonna be okay driving all that way?"

"Yeah, I'm not working house shows so I'm gonna drop by in Richmond and surprise Mickie."

"Oh …" Jeff trailed off.

"I have GPS in my car, I'll be fine," the diva insisted. Jeff was starting to act weird again.

"I could come with you."

"And lose your flight money? That's not a good idea."

The multi coloured haired man frowned, "You don't want me to come with you?"

Maria sighed, "It's not that Jeff. I don't think Beth would be too happy about it."

Jeff rested his arms on his legs, "What's Beth got to do with anything?"

"Think about it, you're supposed to be home in a few hours, she's probably really looking forward to seeing you and you'll gonna call up and tell her you're not coming home because you're going on a road trip with me."

"I didn't think about that."

"That's the problem, Jeff. You don't think … some of the time anyways. Bump and me are gonna be fine. We've been looking after each other for the passed few months." She placed her hand of his bare shoulder, trying to reassure him.

"And you'll call me when you get to Mickie's?"

"Uh huh," Maria nodded, "I promise. Anyways, I should go and let you get dressed and all."

Jeff reached forward and placed his hand on her stomach, "Now Bump, you take good care of your mom until next week, okay?"

The diva smiled, "He says, yes Papa Jeff."

Jeff returned the smile, "Great job, little buddy."

"I'll see you on Tuesday, take care of yourself." Maria leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Bye Jeff."

"Bye Maria."

Once back inside the safety of her own room, the pretty diva sighed heavily. As much as she really wanted to spend the next few days in Jeff's company, it probably wasn't the best idea. Before she could give it anymore thought, Maria's cell phone started to ring. She sat down and fished out the phone from her purse, "Hello?"

"Hey you," Mickie replied.

Maria instantly smiled, "Oh hey, Micks. I was just about to text you. What's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well I'm fine. I had a great walk. Just got back from saying bye to Jeff. He was still in bed … Kind of thought I was Beth."

"I bet that was sucky."

"Oh yeah but then he pulled me on top of him. That was fun."

Mickie laughed, "You're such a bad girl."

The red head fell backwards onto her bed, "I know … Why did I have to fall in love with him?"

"Do you really want to me answer that?"

In the distance Maria could hear Chris shout, "Answer what?"

"None of your business," Mickie replied, "And besides you shouldn't be listening. This is a private conversation."

"Well excuse me …" Chris replied dramatically making Maria laugh.

"Sorry about that. You know how he loves to butt in to other people's conversations."

"No worries. Look I better go and check out. I'll be seeing you."

"Bye."

Maria hung up the phone and sat up, "Time to get out of here." After gathering her suitcase and purse, she headed towards the door, leaving the hotel room for the last time. It didn't take her long to reach the hotel lobby only to find several of her co-workers standing in line to check out. "Morning," Maria greeted.

"Morning," Victoria replied cheerfully. "How's it going?"

"Good … Wasn't expecting a line like this already."

"They have a problem with their computer system. I've been waiting here for like twenty minutes already."

Maria made a face, "I was hoping to get out of here quickly."

"Not gonna happen … It's all Adam's fault," she said loud enough for the blond man who was at the reception desk to turn around.

"Hey, I didn't do anything."

"Sure you didn't," Chavo piped up causing the others to laugh.

"I didn't," Adam insisted.

Maria waved him off, "It will be a lot easier if you stop protesting and just go with it."

"You're probably right." He held his hands up, "Sorry guys. I broke the computer system with the power of my mind."

Victoria shook her head, "He's such a dork."

"Yeah …" Maria trailed off as a pair of hands covered her eyes, "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Guess who?" a male voice whispered in her ear.

"I have no idea," Maria lied, "But whoever you are you smell amazing." She leaned back, resting her head against his shoulder knowing full well it was Jeff Hardy.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now if we could just stay here like this until this line has disappeared, that would be fabulous."

Jeff chuckled and repositions his hands from over her eyes to resting gently on her stomach.

"You got dressed quickly."

"Yeah, didn't have much of a choice on that one, darling."

Maria shivered as his breath tickled her neck, did Jeff have any idea what he was doing to her right now? Surely he didn't or he would have stopped.

"Are you cold?"

"Nah just a chill."

"You guys are so cute together," Victoria commented. "Are you looking forward to the storyline, Maria?"

"Yeah, I guess so. At least I'll be comfortable with Jeff if we have to kiss or whatever."

Just as Jeff was about to speak, the receptionist announced that the computer system was now working and everybody should be checked out in a few minutes. This seemed to make all her co-workers happy but Maria couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to be in Jeff's arms a little longer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I'm still owning nothing.**

**Thanks for the reivews, please keep them coming. This will be the last chapter for a few days as I'm out of town now until Monday.  
**

Chapter 5

It was seven thirty in the evening by the time Maria had pulled up outside Mickie's house. The redhead had called her friend twenty minutes ago just to make sure she was going to be home when she arrived. Luckily for Maria, Mickie and Chris had no plans for the evening.

She got out of her car and headed towards the front door. After a moment she rang the door bell and waited. About a minute later the door opened revealing a shocked Mickie.

"Oh my god," Mickie squealed. "What are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" Maria stepped forward, given her female best friend a hug.

Behind them, Chris Jericho appeared, "What's going on?"

"Surprise!"

"Maria?"

"That's me."

"I can't believe it. How long can you stay for?" Mickie asked excitedly.

"Until Friday … If that's alright with you."

"Sure it is. Is your stuff in the car?"

"Yeah, I was just making sure it's okay for me to stay before I unloaded my case."

Mickie rolled her eyes, "Of course you can stay." She turned her attention to Chris, "Honey, can you grab Maria's stuff for her please?"

Chris nodded and took the keys to the vehicle from the redhead. "I'll be back in a minute."

"It's just the one case and it's in the trunk."

"Okay, gotta ya." As the blond haired man walked out of the hallway, the two divas walked into the living room.

"I'm so happy you're here, I haven't seen you for ages."

"I know," Maria replied, "It's been at least two weeks since I saw you." She laughed for a moment before a familiar feeling came over her, "Bathroom," she a called out before sprinting towards Mickie's ground floor restroom.

Maria returned to the living room a good ten minutes later looking rather worse for wear.

"You okay honey?"

"Yeah, just the usual morning sickness. I just threw up my cheeseburger."

Mickie made a face, "Ew … Do you want something else to eat?"

"Nah, I'm good. Do you mind if I take a nap though? The drive wiped me out."

"Sure, Chris has put your stuff in the guest room."

"Thanks Micks. I'll probably be awake in a couple of hours." Maria replied.

"Take all the time you need, Sweetie."

Maria headed up the stairs towards Mickie's guest room, totally forgetting about her promise to call her best friend.

Whispering Pines, North Carolina

Jeff Hardy was pacing back and forth in the living room of his long time friend, Shannon Moore. He stopped every so often to take a swig of the bottle of Jack Daniels he held in this hand.

Shannon was leaning back into the couch resting this feet on the coffee table, "Dude, would you stop pacing?"

"I'm waiting for a call."

Shannon rolled her eyes at his friend's behaviour, "Why don't you just call Beth?"

Jeff shook his head, "It's not from Beth."

The blond haired man shot him a curious look, "Then who?"

"Maria," Jeff replied. He finally sat down on the couch next to Shannon and took out his cell phone. "I don't have full signal … Do you?"

Shannon sighed but pulled his cell phone out of his pant pocket anyway, "I have four bars, dude."

"Damn, maybe if I hold it up here." He stuck his arm up as high as he could reach.

"Why is Maria calling you so important, anyways?"

"She's driving to Mickie's. She should have been there by now."

"Oh is that all? They're probably catching up or whatever. No big, man."

"But she said she would call me," Jeff insisted.

Shannon crossed his ankles on the table, "If it's that important, maybe you should call her."

Jeff shot him a 'Are you crazy?' look, "Then she'll think I'm checking up on her."

"Isn't that what you're doing?"

"Whatever … Can you call me? I wanna make sure this thing is working."

The Reject laughed, "You're not serious?"

"Just do it, man."

Deciding it was best if he didn't argue any further, Shannon selected Jeff's number from the address book in his cell and called it. Almost immediately the phone started to ring.

"Damn it."

Shannon cancelled the call, "Okay … What's going on here, Jeff?"

Jeff looked away unable to look the blond man in the eyes, "It's nothing, man."

"Don't bullshit me."

"Alright, you really want to know? I'll tell you but you're not going to like it." He took another swig of his drink, "Maria's pregnant right?"

"Yeah … So?"

"I think I'm the father."

Shannon frowned, "How is that even possible?"

"Four months ago, me and Maria slept together. And before you say it, Beth and me were broken up at the time but we kinda got back together the next day," Jeff explained in a rush. He closed his eyes for a moment and then just opened one to see if Shannon was looking at him, he was. "And when I spoke to Maria later that day I sort of made out like I couldn't remember anything from the night before."

"Dude that's low."

"Trust me I feel bad about it. Really bad."

"So now Maria's knocked up and the kid's yours. Have you spoken to Maria about this?"

"I've tried. Last night she came to see me, she wanted to talk to me about something but then Beth called and Maria left in a rush."

"Not really that surprising dude," Shannon put in.

"No, I guess not. This morning I stopped by her room to try and talk to her about it but she was on the phone to another guy."

"Who was it?"

Jeff shrugged, "I dunno, maybe she's got a boyfriend. Whoever it was, she told him she loved him. And I gotta tell you man, I didn't like it … Not one bit."

The blond haired man smirked in amusement, "So, you're like jealous or something?"

"Oh yeah, you have no idea. It doesn't make sense."

Shannon snorted, "Since when does your life ever make sense, Nero?"

"You might just have a point there, Shan."

The reject shook his head, "I was kidding. What ya gonna tell Beth?"

"I'm not telling Beth shit at the moment. Not until I talk to Maria …"

"Just call her already."

Jeff selected Maria's number from his phonebook and it the green call button. He sighed heavily as it began to ring. No answer, it wasn't long before he heard Maria's sweet voice instructing him to leave a message on her voicemail. "Damn it … Where are you Ria? Call me when you get this." He pressed the red button, shut his phone and took another swig of his Jack Daniels.

"Maybe you should take it easy on that stuff, man. You don't want to be totally wasted when she calls back."

"Good thinking." Jeff placed the bottle on the coffee table next to his friend's feet.

Two hours later and twenty five call attempts later, Jeff was going out of his mind. "Where the fuck is she?"

"Still no luck?" Shannon asked as he reappeared into the living room, having left five minutes previously to get a soda from the kitchen.

"No," Jeff snapped.

Shannon held his hands up in defence, "Okay, don't bite my head off. Have you tried calling Mickie?"

"I don't have Mickie's number, do you?"

"Why would I have Mickie's number? What about Jericho?"

"I don't have his either."

"Does Matt?"

"I don't think so and I really don't want to bother Matt, he's having some quality alone time with Eve right now."

"Then I'll bother Matt … Anything to stop you from torturing yourself." Before Jeff could protest, the blond man had pulled out his cell phone and was calling the Eldest Hardy brother. "Hey man, sorry to interrupt your evening but you don't by any chance have Jericho's cell phone number?"

"Nope, what do you need it for?"

"Jeff needs to call him … You don't have Mickie's do you?"

"Nope."

"Okay thanks man. Talk to you later." Shannon hung up without waiting for Matt to reply. "That was a bust."

"Dude, can I borrow your computer?"

"Sure … what for?"

"I'm booking a flight to Richmond … I'm going looking for Maria."

"Are you crazy, Jeff?"

"Probably … But I gotta make sure that she's okay. Her and Bump."

"How do you even know where Mickie lives?"

"I have her address, I went to her house for a party once with Maria."

Shannon just shook his head, Jeff had pulled some crazy shit in his life and he knew better than to try and talk him out of it. "Do you need a ride to the airport?"

"Thanks dude," Jeff replied, marching over to the computer in the corner of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing.**

**Thanks so much for all the reviews. Please keep them coming. This chapter is pretty much a filler chapter but I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 6

Unfortunately for Jeff the next flight to Richmond wasn't until six the next morning so it had been a restless night for him. He'd considered jumping in the car and just driving there but Shannon had talked him out of it, reminding him of the amount of Jack Daniels he'd already consumed. The last thing he needed was a DUI charge. True to his word his long time friend and given him a ride to the airport. The plane had been on time and now he was in a taxi cab, minutes away from Mickie's house and hopefully finding Maria.

Suddenly his cell phone started to ring, he yanked it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID, it was Beth. Disappointed, Jeff debated not answering, in the panic last night, he hadn't given his girlfriend a second thought. He decided it was best to answer and accepted the call, "Hey."

"Jeff? Where the hell are you?"

"I'm in Richmond, last minute work thing," Jeff lied. He felt bad about lying but it wasn't like he could tell her the truth, that he'd dropped everything to go looking for Maria who was probably pregnant with his child.

"Couldn't you have said no? I was looking forward to spending a few days alone with you. And why didn't you call me?" Beth added.

Jeff cringed at her tone, "Like I said, it was a last minute thing. I'll be back on Saturday at the latest.

Beth sighed heavily, "How are we supposed to be working things out if you're never home?"

"Please don't start, I'm not in the mood for another argument. I gotta go I'm almost at the venue. I'll call you later, bye." He hung up the phone, neglecting to say his usual, 'I love you' to his girlfriend. It wasn't that he didn't love her, he did but at the moment they were going through another rough patch in their relationship. Pure jealousy had caused him to lie to Maria about it.

Once the cab had pulled up outside Mickie's house, Jeff paid the driver and lifted his suitcase onto the sidewalk. As he made his way down the longish driveway he felt his stomach drop when there was no sign of Maria's car. Where the hell was she?

When he reached the door, he didn't hesitate and pressed the bell. He didn't have to wait long, Mickie opened the door just seconds later, "Jeff? What are you doing here?"

Jeff ignored her question, "Is Maria here?"

The brunette shot him a confused look, "Maria?"

"Yeah, is she here?"

"No," Mickie replied when Jeff's face dropped she continued, "But she was, she's just gone with Chris to get some gas."

Jeff let out a huge sigh of relief, "Oh thank god."

"I think you'd better come in." She sidestepped allowing her co-worker access to her home. Once the two were inside the living room she spoke again, "Take a load off."

"Thanks," Jeff said, sitting down on one of the two couches.

"So Jeff, what's going on?"

"I was looking for Maria?"

"Yeah … I gotta ask, why didn't you just call her?"

"I tried too, like over fifty times last night," Jeff replied, "She didn't answer."

"Maybe the battery died. I don't remember hearing it ring."

Jeff frowned, "She promised she'd call me when she got here. She always calls me."

Mickie ran a hand through her hair, "Right, I think I know what happened, Maria was wiped out when she got here. She threw up and then crashed for the night."

Meanwhile Maria and Chris had just pulled into the driveway, the redhead was about to exit she noticed her cell phone was sitting in one of the cup holders, "I must have left it there last night." She picked it up and looked at the display, "Fifty five missed calls?"

Chris laughed, "Somebody's popular."

Maria pressed a few buttons, "They're all from Jeff … Oh shit, I forgot to call him last night. I better do it …" she trailed off as the battery died, "Shit."

"What's wrong?"

"Battery died."

"You can use the land line when we get back inside I'm sure Mickie won't mind."

"Thanks Chris."

The two got out of the car and walked towards the front door but before Chris could ring the bell the door opened revealing an amused looking Mickie, "Oh hey guys, good timing. You've got a visitor, Maria."

Maria shot her best friend a confused look, "Me? Nobody knows I'm here. Who is it?"

The brunette smiled brightly, "Go into the living room and find out."

The smackdown diva rolled her eyes and headed towards the living room. As she walked into the living room she gasped, "Oh my god, Jeff what are you doing here?"

"You didn't call … I was worried about you."

"I'm so sorry about that. I was wiped out last night and I left my cell in the car. I've only just seen all the missed calls. And I was going to call you from Mickie's land line," Maria rambled. "How did you get here?"

"Plane … Shannon took me to the airport. It's so good to see you Ria. Damn near gave me a heart attack with worry."

"I'm sorry Jeffers," Maria replied in a baby voice, "It won't happen again."

"Too fucking right it won't. I'm coming with you next time. Now get your ass over here and give me a little sugar."

Maria sighed dramatically, "Okay but only because you asked so nicely." She sat down next to him on the couch and hugged him tightly.

After a minute or so Jeff pulled back and placed his hand on her stomach, "Papa Jeff was worried about you too little buddy. I thought something bad had happened to you and your mom."

From the doorway Mickie and Chris watched their friends, "Do you see that?

"Of course, are we going in there or what?"

"In a minute, let's just give them a few more moments alone. Maybe then I won't feel like an intruder in my own home. And for the record he so loves her."

Chris nodded, "Pity he has a girlfriend."

"Yeah."

Maria suddenly noticed them at the doorway, "You can come in you know."

"Didn't want to interrupt the reunion."

"Oh please, there is nothing to interrupt."

"Doesn't look that way to me," Mickie muttered to Chris as they sat down on the opposite couch. "So Jeff, how long are you in Richmond for?"

"Not sure," He replied honestly, he turned his attention to Maria, "When do you leave?"

"Friday."

"Friday," Jeff replied to Mickie. "Are there any good hotels around here?"

"Don't worry about a hotel you can stay here. You'll have to share the guest room with Maria though and there's only one bed in there."

"Wouldn't be the first time they'd shared a bed," Chris chirped up. The three others each shot him a death glare, "I'm just saying."

Mickie elbowed him in the ribs, "Don't."

"If Jeff's cool with sharing with me then it's not a problem. As long as he has enough room next to the beached whale."

Chris tutted loudly, "You are not a beached whale."

"You're beautiful," Jeff put in.

Maria smiled brightly at them both, "Thank you my biased best friends."

"It's true."

"You won't be saying that in a few months time," the redhead replied.

"You'll still be beautiful then."

Maria blushed, "Okay you have to stop it now you're embarrassing me. And speaking of which I should really go for my morning walk." She rested her hand on Jeff's thigh, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure."

The redhead smiled, "Cool, I'm just going to get my sneakers." She got up quickly and was only missing for two minutes, "You guys are welcome to join us."

"Thanks but we gotta sort out the horses this morning. Maybe some other time," Mickie replied.

Chris winked at Maria as she walked passed causing her to roll her eyes which only served to make the blond man smirk.

"I'm going to take Jeff on that walk we did last time I was here."

The raw diva smiled, "Have fun. Lunch will be already about one thirty."

"Thanks Micks. You ready Jeff?"

"Yeah, see ya later." Jeff nodded to his two co-workers as they left the room.

By ninety thirty that evening, Maria and Jeff were both lying on the bed in the guest room. Jeff was asleep or so Maria thought, his hands were resting on her swollen stomach. "Jeff?" When she didn't receive an answer, she looked down, "Hey little one," she whispered, "Can you feel Daddy's hands on you? He's your real daddy too, he just doesn't know it yet but he will do soon, I promise."

Behind her, Jeff opened one eye and smiled. It was true. He was really going to be a father.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing.**

**Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Please R & R.  
**

Chapter 7

Around two the next afternoon, after a rather teary goodbye Maria and Jeff had set out on their way to North Carolina. Jeff had insisted that he would drive and after some initial resistance, the redhead had just completely given up and handed over her keys.

The journey had been a smooth one for the most part except for one small hiccup when Jeff had taken a wrong turning and proceeded to cuss up a storm at Maria's GPS system, untimely telling it to fuck off which had amused Maria no end.

The two had arrived at Shannon's house around six thirty in the evening. The blond man had been out at the time so Jeff had used his key to gain access to the house. They had only been there for five minutes before Shannon returned, he'd been a little surprised to find the Smackdown diva there but had welcomed her with open arms none the less.

After a quick dinner, all three were currently relaxing in the living room. Shannon was sat next to Maria while Jeff was positioned on a near by chair.

They were in the middle of discussing their baby storyline when Maria's cell phone had rung, she pulled it out of her pant pocket, smiling as she saw the caller ID said it was Mickie James, "Hello?"

"Well hello there," Chris Jericho replied.

"Oh hey you … This isn't your number so I didn't think it was you."

"Well I'm full of surprises, Micks is having a match at the moment, my cell is dead so I borrowed hers to call you. Where are you?"

"I'm at Shannon's at the moment with Jeff."

"Sounds cosy."

"Not really … could be better."

"So what ya wearing?" Chris asked randomly.

Maria giggled, "You're such a dork."

"Seriously, I gotta know."

"Um … Grey sweats and a black tank top."

Chris sighed heavily, "Sounds wonderful."

The redhead burst out laughing, "I can't believe you just said that."

"You better believe it," Chris replied, unable not to laugh himself. "How's the little guy doing?"

"Great."

"Put him on, I wanna talk to him."

"Okay, hang on a second." Maria pulled her cell phone away from her ear and placed it on her stomach. She leaned in as much as she could so she could hear what Chris was telling the baby. After hearing him blowing a raspberry, she assumed the conversation was over and picked up the phone again. "Did you have a nice chat?"

"Oh yeah, he's real talkative."

The diva smiled at her friends crazy words and adjusted her position to a more comfortable one. As she did so, she caught sight of Jeff out of the corner of her eye, for some reason he was shooting daggers at her. After deciding it was best to ignore him, she continued her conversation with Chris for another five minutes.

They had made small talk before Chris had to get ready for his match for the house show. He'd been insisting that Maria hung up first for the last minute or so, "You hang up,"

Maria giggled, "No you hang up."

"No way, you do it."

"No you,"

"No you hang up."

"Some fucker better hang up soon," Jeff muttered.

"Oh … I gotta go, Bump has decided it's time for me to be sick. I'll call you later … I love you."

"Love you too, take care."

Maria pocketed her cell phone and jumped up from the couch. "Sorry I gotta throw up. Where's the bathroom?"

"Three doors down on the right."

"Thanks." Maria ran off towards the bathroom.

"Dude, you okay? You're looking a little green over there."

"Shut the fuck up, man."

"I'm just saying."

"Well don't."

"You're so fucking jealous."

Jeff frowned, "I know."

"Who was she talking to?"

"That I don't know. When I ask, she avoids the question."

"She's not dating anyone is she?"

The multi-coloured hair man shrugged, "I dunno, I hope not."

With that the door bell rang, Shannon excused himself to answer it. He was a little surprised to find Beth standing there when he opened the door, "Oh hey Beth."

"Hey Shan. Jeff here?"

"Yeah, come on in." Shannon side stepped allowing the brunette into his home.

After a particular bad bout of morning sickness Maria had finally made it out of the bathroom twenty minutes later. She was totally shocked when she walked back into the living room and found Beth sitting on Jeff's knee.

"Hi Beth," Maria said with as much fake sweetness as she could muster.

"Hey Maria."

"I didn't know you were coming over," Maria said honestly.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good," Beth asked.

"Just the morning sickness. I'm hoping this will be the last week."

"Morning sickness? You're pregnant?" The brunette's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Yeah … Didn't Jeff tell you?"

Beth glared at her boyfriend, "No, he didn't."

"I was going to, must have slipped my mind."

"Who's the father?" Beth asked bluntly.

"Drunken one night stand. Not exactly my finest hour so if you don't mind I'd rather not talk about it."

Behind Beth's back, Jeff and Shannon exchange a look, leading to the blond man shaking his head, "Hey Maria do want some water or something, you really don't look so hot."

"Thanks Shan but I'll be fine. Just need to sit down for a couple of minutes."

Shannon patted the spot next to him, "Well I just so happen to know a real nice comfy spot over here."

"Oh really?" Maria sat next to him and smiled, "You're right, it's great."

The prince of punk casually threw his arm around her shoulders, "I told you so."

After seeing his friend's actions, Jeff proceeded to pull Beth closer to him, kissing her passionately.

Two minutes had passed before Maria had finally had enough of watching her best friend and his girlfriend make out, "I'm gonna go outside before I throw up again."

Shannon laughed, "I think I might join you … That's if you don't mind?"

"Of course not."

Once outside, Maria was starting to feel a bit better, the fresh air in the back yard felt wonderful.

"So, is there anyone special in your life right now? Besides Bump that is?"

Maria sighed, "Nope, he's the only man for me."

"Oh? I kind of got the impression from the phone call there was."

"Phone call … Oh you mean when Chris called me?"

Shannon shot her a confused look, "That was Jericho?"

Maria nodded, "Yeah he was calling from Mickie's cell phone."

The blond man smiled, highly amused by the fact that Jeff was getting jealous for nothing, "Right."

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. I just wouldn't have guessed that was Chris. I mean you're just friends right?"

"Yeah, we're pretty close. Even closer since I got pregnant. I don't know what I would have done without him and Mickie."

Shannon gave her a thoughtful look, "Weren't you the one who hooked those two up?"

"Oh yeah, I'm a regular Miss Matchmaker," Maria replied and then she suddenly smiled, "Is there anyone special in your live right now Mr Moore?"

"Well, there's sort of someone I like but I don't know if they like me or not."

"Who is it?"

"Julie, the seamstress."

The redheaded diva smiled, "Oh she's so nice. Do you want me to see how the land lies for ya?"

Shannon gave her a small smile and ran a hand through his hair, "You'd do that for me?"

"Sure, you're letting me stay here, it's the least I can do."

Suddenly Shannon hugged her and kissed her cheek, "Thanks Ria."

Maria kissed his cheek in return, "You're welcome."

"Well isn't this fucking cosy." An angry sounding Jeff Hardy stated.

Maria turned around to face him, "What's your problem?"

"I'm not the one with a problem."

"Back off, man," Shannon told his best friend.

"I think I should be the one telling you to back the fuck off … man." Childishly, he pushed Shannon in the chest, causing the shorter man to stumble backwards.

"Cut it out, guys," Maria insisted. But she was ignored, her two friends were now involved in a heavy pushing contest which soon ended when Jeff fell back on his butt.

"You're acting like an asshole," Shannon pointed out.

"I don't fucking care," Jeff replied.

Maria shook her head and took off towards the house. She didn't know what Jeff's problem was but right now she didn't care. All she wanted to do what to get out of there and she knew just how to do it.

In the meantime, Shannon had made the mistake of getting too close to Jeff and had now joined the other man on the floor.

Noticing that Maria had gone back to the house, Jeff decided it was a good time to get something of his chest, "I can't believe you kissed her, how could you?"

"It was just a thank you kiss, you fucking idiot. She's gonna put in a good word for me with Julie."

"She is?"

"Yes."

"Oh …" Jeff trailed off and shook his head. "I'm real sorry man, I don't know what came over me. It's like this red mist came over me and I couldn't think straight."

"Tell me about it. And what was up with the big make out session with Beth back there?"

Jeff shrugged, "I dunno."

"Well only one good thing came out of this," Shannon commented. He picked himself up of the floor and stuck out his hand to help Jeff up.

The other man took his hand and got up as well, "And what's that?"

"I found out who she was talking to on the phone."

"Who is it?"

"Chris Jericho."

"Fucking Jerky? You've got to be kidding me."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Still owning nothing over here.**

**Thanks for the reviews, you guys rock. Please keep them coming.**

Chapter 8

Tears were streaming down Maria's face as she ran into the guest bedroom to retrieve her suitcase. She had to get out of here and away from Jeff and his weird behaviour. If she didn't know any better she would swear that he was jealous but that couldn't be true. Luckily for Maria she hadn't unpacked so she would be able to leave quickly. The redhead was about to leave when she decided to write a note to Jeff so he didn't try to come after her. She grabbed her case and dragged it into the hallway just in time for her to see Beth walk through the door into the back yard. 'Good timing,' she thought to herself.

Maria picked up a pen from by the side of Shannon's landline and scribbled a few words on a scrap piece of paper she had in her purse. Once satisfied she put the folded paper by the phone and headed to the front door.

Outside, Beth had joined Shannon and Jeff. "What's going on?"

"Nothing … Everything's cool," Jeff replied with a shrug.

The brunette frowned, "If everything's cool, why has Maria just come storming into the house?"

"She's just a bit emotional right now," Shannon lied.

"Are you sure that's all it is?"

"Yeah, I should go check on her, make sure she's okay."

"Why?"

Jeff made a face, "What do you mean why?"

"Why do you have to check up on her? She's a big girl, she can take care of herself."

"She's my friend," Jeff pointed out.

Beth placed her hands on her hips and frowned, "So is Shannon but I don't see him running in there after her."

Suddenly all eyes were on the blond haired man, who seem uncomfortable with all the attention, "I'm just gonna check up on her."

Beth waited until Shannon had returned to the house before she spoke again, "What's really going on here, Jeff? What's up with you and Maria?"

"She's my best friend, I'm worried about her," Jeff admitted.

"You shouldn't be worried about her, she's nothing to you."

Jeff frowned, "That's not true, I care about her."

"How sweet, it's a pity you don't take that attitude with other people you're supposed it care about."

"Now listen, I don't know what your problem is but …"

Beth interrupted him before he could finish, "My problem is you seem to care more about her than you do about me. I'm your girlfriend."

"I know … There's something I have to tell you and you're not gonna like it."

The brunette narrowed her eyes, "And what's that?"

"The father of Maria's baby? It's me."

"What? You slept with that slut?"

"She's not a slut. It was back in March, we weren't together at the time."

Beth sighed heavily, "Is that supposed to make it alright? How long have you known?"

"I found out she was pregnant on Tuesday," Jeff replied, "I found out it was mine last night."

"No wonder she didn't want to talk about it."

"She doesn't know I know it's mine."

"How the fuck is that possible?"

Jeff ran a hand through his hair, "She was talking to the baby about me, she thought I was asleep."

"You were with her last night … You told me you had a last minute work thing."

"I lied."

"I don't believe this. How could you do this to me Jeff?"

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"That's the problem, you never do. I can't handle this. You and … And her. You need to stay away from her."

"I can't. For one thing Vince has made it into a storyline," the green eyed man pointed out.

"Tell Vince you can't do it."

Jeff shook his head, "You know I can't do that. I'm on my last chance as it is. If I fuck this up, I'm out … Unemployed."

"If you don't we're over. For good this time."

"You can't make me choose between you and my unborn child."

Beth gave him a stern look, "I just did."

"In that case, it's a real easy decision."

The brunette smirked, "I knew you'd see it my way."

"Goodbye Beth."

"What? You're choosing that slut and her child over me? We've been together for nearly ten years. Are you seriously going to throw that away Jeff?"

"You gave me no choice, Beth."

"You bastard!" She slapped him hard across the face. "I hate you so much right now."

Just as Jeff was about to reply, Shannon came running out of the house, "Man …"

"Kind of the middle of something right now, Shan," Jeff replied, rubbing the cheek that Beth had just slapped.

"Yeah, I heard you from the house but this is important. It's Maria … She gone."

Jeff whipped his head around to look at his friend, "What do you mean she's gone?"

"As in gone, left the building. She took all her stuff."

Beth rolled her eyes, "What a drama queen."

"Shut up, Beth," was all Jeff said before he raced into the house. Once inside, he went to grab the phone to call her. It was then he noticed his name written on a folded piece of paper. He opened it up and read the contents.

_Jeff,_

_Gone to a hotel, can't say here. I need some space, please don't call or try to find me._

_See you at Smackdown._

_Maria_

"Fuck," Jeff cursed.

Shannon came up behind him, "What is it?"

"Maria's wrote a note, she wants me to stay away."

"Shit, dude that's rough but …"

"It's my own fault for acting like an asshole right?"

The blond man nodded, "Pretty much, yeah."

Jeff placed his hands on his hips and shook his head, "Damn, what a night. First me and Beth split up and now Ria's gone."

Shannon shot him a confused look, "You and Beth split up?"

"Yeah, she wanted me to choose between her and the baby. Can you believe that shit?"

"You told her about the baby?"

Jeff nodded, "Didn't take it so well … Shocker, I know. But that's it for us. I still can't believe she gave me that ultimatum."

It had taken Maria around twenty five minutes to reach the Days Inn Hotel in nearby Southern Pines and luckily for her they had some vacancies. She had just entered her room when her cell phone started to ring. She pulled it about of her pocket and checked the caller ID, it read Jeff Cell. The pretty diva shook her head, "Don't you ever listen, Jeff?" She was about to press the red button to cut him off but decided it was probably best to speak to him because he would only keep calling back if she didn't. She took a deep breath and pressed the green button, "I thought I told you not to call me?"

"You did, I wasn't going to …. But I just had to know you're okay."

"Well I'm not okay, Jeff."

"Did something happen to you? Is Bump okay?"

"He's fine and the only thing that's happened to me is my best friend is suddenly acting like a jealous psycho. Seriously, Jeff what's going on with you?"

"I'm sorry, I acted like a fucking idiot, I know. There's something I got to tell you but I can't do it over the phone. Can I come and see you?"

"I don't know Jeff."

"Please," Jeff whined.

"Okay, I'm at the Days Inn in Southern Pines, you know it?"

Jeff smiled to himself, "Yeah, I'll be there in twenty and thanks Ria."

"Don't thank me yet Jeff. I'm in room 205."

"I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Bye, Jeff." Maria hung up the phone, wondering why she'd just agreed to meet with him. She placed a hand on her stomach, "I wonder what your Daddy wants to tell me, Bump? Guess we'll just have to wait to find out."

**This was probably Beth's last appearance in this story at least for the time being anyway. She may or may not return at a later date. Even I don't know yet :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

**Big thank you to everyone who takes time to reply to this story. I'm glad you're still enjoying it. I'm having a lot of fun writing both this and my other Maria/Jeff fic, Maybe Someday. So anyway, here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoyed it and please review. Happy New Year to everyone too.**

Chapter 9

Exactly twenty minutes later Maria found herself opening the door to Jeff. She didn't look him in the eye, "You'd better come in."

Jeff didn't reply until they were both seated on the bed. The redhead's face was down. "Maria … Please look at me."

Maria did as instructed, "What?" she asked harshly.

"I'm sorry. What happened back at Shannon's was fucked up."

"You got that right, Jeff. So what did you have to tell me that was so important?"

"I know."

The pretty diva frowned, "Know what?"

"About Bump … I'm the real father, aren't I?"

Maria's jaw dropped, "How did you find out?"

"I overhead you talking to him last night at Mickie's," Jeff admitted.

"I thought you were asleep and wait just a minute, you don't sound surprised."

"I kind of had a suspicion before hand."

Maria pushed a stray piece of her behind her ear, "But that would mean you remember about us sleeping together …"

"I do … Always have."

"But … But you said you couldn't remember anything about that night. You lied to me."

"I know, it was a real shitty thing to do but I'd just got back together with Beth."

Maria frowned, "So that makes it alright?"

"No, of course not."

"Well at least we agree about something. I can't believe this."

"When were you planning on telling me the truth?" Jeff asked suddenly.

Maria sighed, "Tuesday actually. I had it all planned out. Hold on a second, I have something to show you." She crossed the hotel room to fetch her purse and then returned a moment later. She opened the small bag and searched inside for a moment. "Here it is." She pulled out a small white envelope and handed it to Jeff, "You're the first person to see this apart from me."

Jeff looked at the envelope, "What is it?"

"Open it and find out," Maria replied.

The green eyed man carefully opened the unsealed envelope and took out the contents, "Is this …"

"It's our baby," Maria said softly, "It was taken last month at my twelve week sonograph."

Jeff looked at the small scan intently, "Wow, this is amazing."

Maria moved closer to him, "Isn't it? Of course, he's a bit bigger than that now."

Jeff's attention was now on Maria's stomach, "Hey little buddy, Papa Jeff can see you."

At his words, Maria's bottom lip started to wobble. She took a few deep breaths in hope that it would actually stop her from crying but no such luck. Tears started to fall down her pretty face.

At first, Jeff didn't seem to notice until he heard a small sniffle. He looked up at her, "Why are you crying?"

"Lots of reasons. You … You … and you."

Jeff frowned, "I'm real sorry Maria. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Didn't exactly plan of it myself, you know."

"I know." He put the picture back in the envelope and placed it on the bed next to them. "So I guess we should talk about it."

Maria nodded and tried to wipe away the tears from her face, "Just give me a second okay. I'm sure I look like a panda right now."

"You still look beautiful to me," Jeff admitted.

"Please don't … Don't say things you don't mean, Jeff."

"But I do mean them, Ria. I do think you're beautiful."

Maria rose quickly and headed towards the bathroom without saying a word. Once inside she set about removing the remainder of her tear smudged make up. When she was satisfied that all traces where gone, she opened the door and made her way back to Jeff who was still sat on the bed.

"Better?"

"Yeah … So, you wanted to talk, let's talk."

"I guess we should start at the beginning. In March when we hooked up, I was so wasted, man."

The redhead nodded, "Uh huh. I should have known then it was just the drink talking."

Jeff made a face, "Excuse me?"

"Before we had sex and you looked me right in the eye and told me that you loved me. I should have known that was Jack speaking and not Jeff."

"Jack?"

"Jack Daniels, you'd knocked back so much I'm surprised you were able to stand up never mind anything else."

"I wasn't that drunk and it wasn't just the Jack speaking. I do love you, Maria."

"But just as a friend, right. You love me but you're not in love with me."

"I don't know."

Maria's jaw dropped, "What do you mean you don't know?"

Jeff shrugged, "I'm not sure how I really feel about you."

There was a few moments of silence before Maria spoke again, "What about Beth?"

"Me and Beth are finished, for good this time."

Maria rolled her eyes, "I've heard that one before."

"I mean it this time. Earlier, after you left, I told her the truth about the baby. She didn't take it so well."

"Well, I can hardly blame her."

"And she gave me an ultimatum. Her or the baby."

Maria couldn't believe it, "What? She wanted to you pick between her and your baby?"

"Yup. She made it a real easy decision too."

"I can't believe it. I would never have made you choose."

Jeff smiled at her, "I know you wouldn't have. Family is real important to me and I want to be part of my child's life, no matter what."

"And you will be. No matter what."

"Which brings me back to us."

"But there is no us, Jeff."

He looked into her eyes, "Do you want there to be an us?"

"Yes," Maria whispered, "But I don't want to be rebound girl. I want you to be sure."

The green eyed man nodded, "I understand that. You want me to prove myself."

Maria frowned, "You don't have to prove yourself to me, Jeff. I know the type of man you are. You're gonna make a great father."

Jeff smiled at her, "You think so?"

"I know so. I'm really glad we had this talk. Did you get things sorted out with Shannon?"

"Yeah, we're cool. I'm sorry I acted like a jerk back there. Jealously is a bad thing, man."

"But I don't understand why you were jealous. I mean it's Shannon. I hardly know the guy and you were all over Beth like a rash."

"I can't even explain it myself. That phone call started it all off."

"Phone call? But that was just Chris."

"I know that now. I thought you had a boyfriend or something that I didn't know about. Every time I tried to ask about him, you avoided the question," Jeff explained.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I kept thinking you were jealous but I couldn't understand why."

"Well you're not the only one. Can we just agree to forget the whole thing and start again?"

Maria pretended to think about it for a moment, "Okay. You got yourself a deal."

"Cool … Do you hear that Bump? Mommy and Daddy have just made a deal."

Maria leaned forward and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, "Friends?" she whispered in his ear.

"Friends," Jeff confirmed before he wrapped his arms around the Smackdown diva, hugging her tightly.

"Will you stay here with me, tonight? I suddenly don't want to be alone."

"There's no other place, I'd rather be right now. Just let me call Shannon and tell him what's happening."

"Okay."


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. More will be coming soon *fingers crossed*.**

Chapter 10

The next morning, Maria was fast sleep, dreaming of Jeff. "Mmm Jeff, that feels so good," she muttered in her sleep, "Don't stop. Oh god, don't stop." She was dreaming that she was now nine months pregnant and Jeff was massaging her poor feet. Suddenly she woke up, opened her eyes, turned her head and found Jeff staring at her intently, "Oh hey Jeff."

Jeff smiled at her, "Morning, Ria."

The redhead shot him a confused look, "What ya smiling at?"

"You … You were talking in your sleep."

Maria blushed, "What was I saying?"

Jeff pretended to think about it for a moment, "Mmm Jeff that feels so good."

"Oh how embarrassing." Maria pulled the covers over her head.

Jeff slid down in the bed so he too was fully under the covers, "What were you dreaming about?"

"Not what you're thinking, Buddy," Maria said as she reached over and playfully slapped his bare chest.

"Hey, how do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Because you're a fucking pervert," Maria teased.

Jeff smirked, "Such language in front of our unborn child. Shame on you, Maria." He placed his hands on her bump, "Don't listen to your mom's potty mouth, Bump."

The Smackdown diva slapped his chest again, "Says Daddy, who's favourite words are Mother Fucker."

"Ow, would you stop with the slapping already," Jeff pretended to be hurt.

"What's it worth, Nero?"

Before Jeff could answer, Maria's cell phone started to ring. Without moving much at all, she reached out from under the covers and felt around on the night stand for the phone. Once she'd located it, she pulled it back under the covers and pressed the green answer button without checking her caller ID, "Hello?"

"Hey you," Mickie replied brightly.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Good, I just woke up and thought I'd give you call and see how you're doing? I didn't wake you did I?"

"No, I was awake, already. Just talking to Jeff, actually."

"Oh really? What ya talking about?" the Raw diva asked playfully.

"Nothing much, this and that, all good stuff, ya know?"

Mickie laughed at her best friend's chipper tone, "Well it sounds like you're having fun."

"We are, aren't we, Jeff?"

"Who are you talking to?" Jeff asked.

"Mickie … You wanna say hi?"

"Sure," Jeff paused for a moment while Maria handed him the phone, "Hi Mickie, what's up?"

"Morning Jeff, how's it going?"

"Cool, man. I'm just chilling with Ria in her hotel room," Jeff explained.

"Hotel room? I thought you were staying at Shannon's?"

"Long story. Some real crazy shit went down last night but it's all good now."

"Maria's alright isn't she?" Mickie asked.

"Yeah, she's fine now. I better put you back on to her. Catch you later, take care."

"Bye Jeff."

Maria grabbed the phone back off Jeff, "Hey Micks."

"What's going on … Why are you at a hotel with Jeff?"

"It's a long story, can you hold on just a second?" The redhead suddenly noticed that Jeff wanted to tell her something.

"Sure."

"I'm just gonna take a shower."

"Okay but don't use all the hot water, okay?"

Jeff kissed her cheek, "I won't … I promise."

"You'd better not." She watched Jeff get out of the bed and pulled the covers down so she could watch him walk towards the bathroom. The boxers he was wearing were pretty tight and Maria was certainly enjoying the view of his backside as he disappeared.

"Hello?"

"Oh hey, Micks. Sorry about that. Jeff's just gonna take a shower."

"So I heard, what the hell is going on there?"

"I told Jeff the truth about the baby … Well actually he told me he knew."

"What?" How is that possible?"

"He remembers everything Mickie. Beth knows too. They're finished for good. She made him pick between her and the baby," Maria explained in a rush.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No."

"So I assuming by the fact that Jeff is there with you, he picked you and the baby?"

"Yes … And we might be starting a relationship but I'm not too sure yet."

"Say what?"

"You heard me but don't get too excited just yet and don't tell anybody else okay?"

"Not even Chris?"

"Okay you can tell Chris."

Mickie giggled, "This is just so awesome and yet somehow unexpected. I mean you've only been in love with him for the last ever."

The two diva's chit chatted for about fifteen minutes, before Maria decided that she should end the call, "I know. Look I better go. I call you later, hon."

"Okay, have fun."

"After last night, I intend too. Bye." Maria hung up her phone and placed it on the nightstand. She suddenly had the overwhelming urge to use the bathroom. "Damn it." The pretty diva got out of bed and crossed the room to the bathroom. She banged on the door, "Jeff? Are you decent, I really have to pee."

"You can come in," came Jeff's reply from the other side of the door.

Maria opened the door and stepped inside, totally unprepared for what she was about to see. Jeff was standing in the middle of the bathroom, soaking wet. She let her eyes wonder down from his face to his chest. As they moved down to his torso, the Smackdown diva suddenly realised he was totally naked. Instantly her hand shot up to cover her eyes, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

Jeff laughed, "What are you doing? You've seen me naked before."

Maria peeked through the gaps in her fingers to find Jeff had actually wrapped a towel around his waist, "I know but I've never seen you naked when I'm sober."

The multi-coloured haired man just shrugged, "What's that got to do with it?"

Maria totally moved her hand, "Everything and I hate to rush you but I really have to pee."

Jeff motioned towards the toilet, "Go ahead."

Maria giggled nervously, "I'm not peeing in front of you … You have to get out."

"I would pee in front of you," Jeff told her matter-of-factly.

"You'd pee in front of anybody. Now get the hell out of my bathroom, Jeffrey."

Jeff held his hands up in defense and then gathered his clothing, "Okay I'm going."

Maria waited until he left the room before she moved anywhere remotely close to the toilet.

A while later when both had dressed, Maria checked out of the hotel and followed Jeff back to Shannon's house. Once there, the two had unpacked Maria's stuff in the guest room at Jeff's insistence while they waited for the blond haired man to return from the store. Once the unpacking was complete, they had settled down on Shannon's couch. Jeff had wrapped one arm around the redhead's shoulder and when she hadn't protested he'd placed the other one on her stomach.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note: Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I got a bit of writer's block for this one and I've also been hit by several new plot bunnies that don't want to leave me alone. I'm still not too happy with this chapter but I want to move on with the story. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. You guy rocks. Please R & R.**

Chapter 11

Maria hadn't seen much of Jeff for the past few days on account that he'd been spending some quality time with his brother at his house so they could film the latest episode of the Hardy show and they'd been working house shows for the last couple of nights. Being pregnant, Maria had been excused from house show duty and was only being used for television.

As she sat in the Diva's lock room backstage before this week's Smackdown tapings she looked at the script in disbelief, there had to be some sort of typing error because when she agreed to do the storyline with Jeff what she was currently reading wasn't part of the deal. She stood quickly, she had to find one of the writer's or someone to clear this mess up. As she opened the door she just about avoided bumping into Michelle McCool who looked less than impressed.

"Watch where you're going, fatty," Michelle said with a laugh.

"Sorry," Maria mumbled not even registering the fact that Michelle had just called her a hurtful name. The redhead continued on her way to the writer's office, as she rounded the corner, she saw Matt and Jeff coming in the opposite direction. "Jeff? Have you seen the script yet?"

Jeff shook his head, "Nope, we just got here." He paused for a moment and studied her face, "What's wrong?"

"They are … I mean they are making us … Get married," Maria eventually got the words out.

"What?" Jeff and Matt said at the same time.

"We're getting married on the show," Maria said. "Next month, in Vegas of all places." She screwed up her pretty face, "This sucks."

At her reaction Jeff made a face, "It's not that bad, I mean it could be a lot worse."

Maria shook her head, "I don't see how."

Matt looked at his brother and then across at Maria, "I'll leave you guys to it."

"Thanks man," Jeff said before turning his attention back to his best friends, "What's so bad about us getting married on the show?"

"I can't do it."

Jeff moved closer to her, "Why not?"

"I just can't." She went to move past him but he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To get this script changed," Maria told him matter-of-factly.

Jeff reached up and touched her face gently with his free hand, "But why? I don't understand."

"I can't marry you on screen, Jeff." Maria closed her eyes, "I couldn't take it."

Jeff immediately released his hold of her, "What the fuck?"

The redhead opened her eyes again to find the man she was madly in love with looking very angry, "That didn't come out right, Jeff. I didn't mean it like that."

Jeff's face remained unchanged, "Then how did you mean it, Maria?"

"It wouldn't be real," was all Maria managed before tears started rolling down her face.

At this, Jeff's face finally softened, "You're not making any sense."

Maria sniffled, "I know, don't you think I know this?"

"Don't cry." He brushed a few tears away with his finger tips, "I hate it when you cry."

She took a deep breath, "There's something you should know … Maybe it will explain why I'm acting like a complete idiot but I don't want to tell you in the hallway. Is there somewhere we can go to talk in private?"

Jeff nodded, "I know just the place." He took hold of her hand and led her down the hallway. They had walked a few hundred metres when Jeff turned and went into one of the opened doors, "I saw this room a few minutes ago when we arrived."

Maria followed him inside and closed the door behind them. There was nothing in the room except five or six folding blue steel chairs, the redhead sat down on the closest one to the door and motioned for Jeff to do the same.

When Jeff had sat down, he took hold of Maria's hand and gave it a little squeeze, "Now what's this all about?"

"I'm in love with you Jeff."

"You're what?"

"In love with you. I have been for the past two years. I've tried not to be but I can't help it," Maria admitted.

Green eyes looked at her intently, "Why didn't you say something before?"

"You were dating Beth so it was pointless. And I was going to tell you after we slept together back in March, I had it all planned out and when I got to your hotel room, you told me you couldn't remember a thing about the night before and you and Beth had just got back together." Maria looked at him sadly, "That was a real kick in the balls."

Jeff lowered his head, "I'm real sorry about that Ria."

"I know you are Jeff but it doesn't change things, I can't go through with a fake wedding because it's never gonna be real."

Jeff raised his head again, "You don't know that … I told you I wasn't sure exactly how I felt about you. I do care for you a lot Maria, that's the truth."

"I know but how long is it going to be before you get back with Beth?"

"Me and Beth are finished this time."

Maria shook her head, "You say that now but what happens when she realises she's made a mistake and wants to you back? What happens to me again? I get my heart broken."

Jeff reached out and took hold of her hand, "That's not happening this time, I swear."

"You can't guarantee that Jeff."

The green eyed man dropped her hand and stood up, "Yeah I can and I know just how to do it too." He marched towards the door.

"Jeff? Where are you going?"

The multi-coloured haired man grinned at her, "I just need to get something, I'll be back soon. Cover for me."

Maria sighed as he disappeared, "Easier said than done, Nero. Easier said than done."

No sooner had the words left her mouth Jeff appeared again, "And don't be seeing anybody about getting the script changed."

"But why?" Maria asked.

"You'll see." With that he turned on his heels and left Maria alone again.

"Just what are you up to Jeff Hardy?"

It was forty minutes later and Jeff still hadn't appeared. Maria was starting to worry that maybe he wasn't coming back. She'd already covered for him twice when Stephanie had asked where he was and was running out of excuses, after all there was only so many times a person could be in the bathroom.

Maria cringed as she saw Stephanie approaching once more, "Hi Stephanie."

"Where's Jeff and please don't tell me he's in the bathroom again."

"He's …"

"I'm right here," Jeff said as he came up from behind.

"Good, my father wants to see you in his office in five minutes."

"Okay thanks Steph. I'll be there."

Stephanie nodded as she walked away.

"Where have you been?"

Jeff smiled at her, "I had to pick something up, it took longer than I thought."

The redhead made a face, "What was it?"

"You'll just gonna have to wait and find out, it's a surprise."

Maria frowned, "But I hate surprises."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

**Notes - A huge thank you to the awesome Tina (Super T) for her help with this. She has now ventured into the realms of Jeria fic and is writing an awesome story called Broken Hearts, Bitter Enemies. Please check that out and let her know what you think. That said, thank you to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter. I'm hoping that I can update this one again soon. Please R & R.**

Chapter 12

Jeff had been in Vince's office for the past ten minutes. Maria had been pacing up and down the hallway the entire time trying to work out what her surprise could be but was coming up blank. And let's face it, with Jeff, it could be anything. The redhead immediately stopped pacing when she saw Jeff approaching in the distance and from the look on his face, he wasn't happy. Instantly concerned, Maria started to walk towards her best friend. Just as she was about to reach him, he ducked inside the room they were talking in earlier, wordlessly Maria followed him into the room and closed the door behind them.

"Jeff? What's wrong?"

A huge smile broke out on Jeff's face, "Nothing … Everything's cool."

Maria frowned, "What happened with Vince?"

"New storyline."

"Oh …" the pretty diva trailed off.

Now it was Jeff's turn to frown, "What's wrong?"

"Are they dropping our storyline now?"

"Nope, not unless you still don't want to go through with it, that is. The new storyline is mingled in with that one. I'm getting the big one," Jeff announced suddenly.

Maria's eyes went wide, "They're giving you the WWE championship?" When Jeff nodded, Maria threw her arms around him, "Oh Jeff, that's great news, I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Maria. It won't be until December but we got a lot of things going on until then." He pulled back slightly and caught sight of Maria crying. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just so happy for you. These are happy tears. It's your son's fault. He says congratulations Daddy, by the way."

Jeff reached down and touched her stomach, "Thanks Bump."

Maria smiled despite her tears, "Have you told Matt yet?"

The multi-coloured haired man shook his head, "Nope, you're the first person I've told. I am gonna tell Matt just not yet."

Maria wiped her remaining tears away with her hand, "Why not?"

"Because things could change and I don't want to screw it up."

"I'm sure they won't change, you're gonna be an awesome champion. I just know it."

"Thanks Ria. That means a lot to me." Jeff paused for a moment to look at his watch, "And we gotta go and shoot something for tonight."

"What is it?"

"The proposal … Unless you really don't want to do it?"

Maria smiled weakly at him, "I'm still not sure Jeff and besides, I haven't had my surprise yet."

Jeff grinned at her, "Well in that case, we'll have to stop by catering on the way."

Maria raised an eyebrow, "My surprise is in catering?"

"Uh huh. Come on, let's go." He took hold of her hand and led her out of the room. The two walked in silence until they reached the catering room which was surprisingly deserted for that time of day. "Just wait here a moment."

Maria nodded and watched as Jeff approached the lady behind the counter. She could see him asking for something and then the woman disappeared for a moment. The woman returned with a pint sized tub of ice cream. The redhead screwed up her face, "My surprise is ice cream?" she muttered to herself but she tried to hide her disappointment when he returned to her.

"Surprise …"

"Thanks Jeff. That's my favourite," Maria replied in the most cheery voice she could muster.

"I know that's why I bought it for you. Let's get this open and you can have some right now." He walked over to the table in the far corner and sat down.

Maria followed him silently, not to sure of what to say. Out of all the things she'd imagined her surprise to be, ice cream wasn't one of them. She sighed as she sat opposite Jeff.

Jeff seemed to be struggling to get the lid of the tub off, "Man, this thing is on pretty tight, I can't seem to get it off."

Maria rolled her eyes, "Come on Jeff, it's an ice cream lid, how hard can it be?"

Jeff attempted to open the lid again but it still wasn't opening, "It won't budge … Maybe you should try."

The redhead laughed, "If you can't open it what makes you think I can?"

The green eyed man pouted, "Can you just try?"

Maria reached out and took the tub out of Jeff's hand. She was really surprised when the lid came off without any trouble at all. She was about to give Jeff a hard time about it when she noticed something laying on top of the plastic seal, "Oh my god."

Jeff looked at her, "What's wrong?"

"There's a ring in here," Maria replied, looking up at Jeff.

Jeff frowned slightly and then grinned, "I wonder how that got in there …"

Maria returned the grin, "I wonder …"

The Smackdown superstar moved forward so he could look inside the tub, "Do you like it? If you don't like it, we can go and change it."

"No, I love it but I don't understand."

"You said you didn't want to get married on screen because it wouldn't be real so I thought let's make it real too."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Maria studied his face carefully, "What about Beth?"

Jeff shook his head slightly, "Forget about Beth. From now on, it's just you, me and Bump."

The redhead felt yet more tears start to prick her eyes, "Oh Jeff, I don't know what to say."

"Yes would be a good start," Jeff replied dryly.

Maria laughed, "Well technically you haven't even asked me the question. It's kind of traditional."

Jeff shrugged, "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly a traditional guy but …" He took hold of her hand in his own, "Maria, you're my best friend and the mother of my unborn child and I do love you so, do you want to get married?"

"Yes."

"Cool." He reached into the ice cream tub, pulled out the ring and placed it carefully onto Maria ring finger on her left hand. It was a perfect fit.

"Wow, it's gorgeous." She raised an eyebrow at him, "How did you know my ring size?"

"I have to admit, I had a little help from Mickie but I didn't tell her what it was really for. She thinks it was for the storyline."

"She's gonna get a surprise then …"

"Yeah, her and everyone else. You do like it, don't you?"

"I honestly love it Jeff. It's so pretty."

Jeff sighed, "Well that's a relief, that's why I was gone for so long. There is a jewellery store like a block away from here but I couldn't make up my mind between this one and another one. When do you think we should tell everybody?"

"Jeff? Can we just keep this between the two of us for now?"

Jeff creased his eyebrows in confusion, "Why don't you want anybody to know?"

"I do but not just yet and we have the perfect cover because we've getting married on screen."

"Okay, if that's what you want, speaking of which, we better get going."

Maria grinned, "But what about my ice cream?"

"You can take it with you."

"Okay … Let's go."


End file.
